Sword vs Lore Bard

[ChangeSumFlux]

So I’m trying to finish up a character idea and I am attempting to decide whether I want to use my last 4-6 lvls in sword bard or lore bard.
My character is a grappler, focusing on crowd control and subduing enemies.
I’ve had strong recommendations both ways, the sword bard gives extra movement, dmg, and allows my fists/weapons to be my focus.
The lore bard allows cutting words which is really strong, and at lvl 6 can choose 2 spells from any class.
I guess I’m trying to figure out which way to go, so if anyone has an opinion/advice, that would be nice. If you have experience with either bard I’d like to hear your experience with them.
A last note: I also have levels of barbarian already locked in so rage may mess with concentration for spells if I go lore bard.
Thanks in advance

[Grear Bylls]

So I’m trying to finish up a character idea and I am attempting to decide whether I want to use my last 4-6 lvls in sword bard or lore bard.
My character is a grappler, focusing on crowd control and subduing enemies.
I’ve had strong recommendations both ways, the sword bard gives extra movement, dmg, and allows my fists/weapons to be my focus.
The lore bard allows cutting words which is really strong, and at lvl 6 can choose 2 spells from any class.
I guess I’m trying to figure out which way to go, so if anyone has an opinion/advice, that would be nice. If you have experience with either bard I’d like to hear your experience with them.
A last note: I also have levels of barbarian already locked in so rage may mess with concentration for spells if I go lore bard.
Thanks in advance

I've written a guide to unarmed fighters, similar to what you've described, and I consider both to be great. I personally prefer Swords, as 2d6 to damage and AC on a crit rocks, plus dueling for your one handed attacks is great. The extra movespeed also allows for some fun verticality if you can climb or jump.

Lore Bard opens up skills, which are fun, but not overly useful. Cutting words, though is super nice. However, advantage and expertise (I presume) make it near useless, imo.

Overall, I like Swords better. You don't need that final level 6, so you can go into paladin for 2 levels, if possible, to Smite with thine fist. Check out my guide if you can't decide:smallbiggrin:

[Speely]

I play a Lore Bard. The extra 3 skill proficiences, cutting words, and extra spells are nice, and you would offer more out of combat, for a more versatile top-off...

But Swords sounds really nice for your combat prowess. A fighting style and Flourishes would fit right in.

Lore might give you more options for CC, but base Bard spells can already cover that, and unless you have a high Cha, lots of those will fizzle at that level.

Without knowing the other class dips you are taking, I would go Swords for more melee options while doing your grapple dance.

[RSP]

So I’m trying to finish up a character idea and I am attempting to decide whether I want to use my last 4-6 lvls in sword bard or lore bard.
My character is a grappler, focusing on crowd control and subduing enemies.
I’ve had strong recommendations both ways, the sword bard gives extra movement, dmg, and allows my fists/weapons to be my focus.
The lore bard allows cutting words which is really strong, and at lvl 6 can choose 2 spells from any class.
I guess I’m trying to figure out which way to go, so if anyone has an opinion/advice, that would be nice. If you have experience with either bard I’d like to hear your experience with them.
A last note: I also have levels of barbarian already locked in so rage may mess with concentration for spells if I go lore bard.
Thanks in advance

You already have Extra Attack and Med Armor Prof, so 6 levels of Sword doesn’t do as much for you. Whereas the 3 extra skill profs and 2 spells from any class (I’m looking at you Armor of Agathys) I’d say, in general, Cutting Words>Flourishes, and more so if you’re focusing on grappling (Expertise Athletics and then Citting Words your opponent if they get a good roll and you get a bad one).

Really a lot of what Sword brings to the table is irrelevant to you as you already have it. Do you really think Flourishes>Cutting Words+AMS+Any 3 Skills?

[Grear Bylls]

Really a lot of what Sword brings to the table is irrelevant to you as you already have it. Do you really think Flourishes, Dueling, Movement, weapons as spell focus, and another class level in a different class>Cutting Words+AMS+Any 3 Skills?

Yes. I do. Any sane DM should allow Dueling on a fist (if they don't, use a club), and Flourishes are dangerous on a crit. Movement helps someone slowed, focuses are flavorful, and Paladin levels can help replace and enhance those Bard levels. I honestly do feel this beats out an average of -5 on a check as a reaction, 3 skills that the party could cover, and 2 spells that aren't available while enraged.

However, please, prove me wrong :)

[RSP]

Yes. I do. Any sane DM should allow Dueling on a fist (if they don't, use a club), and Flourishes are dangerous on a crit. Movement helps someone slowed, focuses are flavorful, and Paladin levels can help replace and enhance those Bard levels. I honestly do feel this beats out an average of -5 on a check as a reaction, 3 skills that the party could cover, and 2 spells that aren't available while enraged.

However, please, prove me wrong :)

I don’t agree dueling should be allowed with fists, but you also seem to be saying fists should be allowed to be a spellcasting focus. Either you have a weapon or you don’t. Also if you knock AMS due to Rage, why is having a weapon as a Spellcasting focus a big deal? If you’re brawling, why is that any better than having a crystal you grab?

Keep in mind Flourishes can’t be used with grapples, which is what the character does. The on average +5 damage isn’t the best part of them either: it’s the added AC or the free Shove. The free movement is good too. But the Barb already has bonus movement and already does the best damage in the game, granted this build isn’t focusing on that.

Holding onto the Flourishes for Crits counters their best features and means you aren’t using them to their potential and when you need them. It’s not the same as Smite. Nor can you use them more than once a turn so if you choose to use it on your first hit, you can’t use it on that Extra Attack crit. Likewise, not using it on that first hit could mean not using it at all, if you miss with that EA.

Now an average of -5 to a check isn’t all Cutting Words does. You can subtract that from an attack against you or an ally, or from any check (has great value in social settings, not just combat, CWs the king to have him believe the party face - which now might be you with those added skills), and can subtract that from damage. Group gets Fireball’d, CWs the damage roll to save each character d8 HPs.

Look at the suggestion to take AoA with AMS: Rage cuts damage in half which makes AoA twice as effect. Cutting Words can negate damage. So AoA could last quite a bit longer while still dishing out damage each time the character gets hit.

Further, you could take any two spells and focus on out of combat versatility or healing. Really the versatility of AMS is ridiculous and you can grab healing to help extend those HPs. Or grab a combat spell like Haste for situations when low on Rage.

And you get 3 skills which you discount as “let the party take them,” which isn’t a great argument as a) we don’t know the rest of the party make up to be able to assume that, those skills may well be vital; and b) having a higher Insight, Investigation, Perception or Stealth certainly helps each character regardless of what the rest of the party has.

Basically the argument is: do you want to be slightly better at combat, or be much more versatile and better at combat (thru Cutting Words if nothing else)

[Grear Bylls]

I don’t agree dueling should be allowed with fists, but you also seem to be saying fists should be allowed to be a spellcasting focus. Either you have a weapon or you don’t. Also if you knock AMS due to Rage, why is having a weapon as a Spellcasting focus a big deal? If you’re brawling, why is that any better than having a crystal you grab?

The Unarmed Strike is a Simple Weapon, allowing you to use it as a focus. This means you can cast if you're captured. Also, Bards require an instrument for spells, not crystals.

I do see your point on Dueling, but if the DM sides with your perspective, just use a table leg. It's basically a club that lets you use tavern brawler stuff.


Keep in mind Flourishes can’t be used with grapples, which is what the character does. The on average +5 damage isn’t the best part of them either: it’s the added AC or the free Shove. The free movement is good too. But the Barb already has bonus movement and already does the best damage in the game, granted this build isn’t focusing on that.

On a crit, it's +7. That is certainly helpful in terms of damage, and getting it to AC is wonderful, too. Any class would love extra AC AND damage.

Extra Movement is always helpful. Why not have more? It's even better for a grappler, so that with 50 normal speed, they're still as fast as a dwarf.


Holding onto the Flourishes for Crits counters their best features and means you aren’t using them to their potential and when you need them. It’s not the same as Smite. Nor can you use them more than once a turn so if you choose to use it on your first hit, you can’t use it on that Extra Attack crit. Likewise, not using it on that first hit could mean not using it at all, if you miss with that EA.

True, you don't HAVE to wait till a crit, it's just nice. Just like a Paladin doesn't HAVE to wait for a crit to burn their biggest Smite. It just helps.

As a grappler, you shouldn't be missing. On demand advantage from Reckless, and locking prone all work


Now an average of -5 to a check isn’t all Cutting Words does. You can subtract that from an attack against you or an ally, or from any check (has great value in social settings, not just combat, CWs the king to have him believe the party face - which now might be you with those added skills), and can subtract that from damage. Group gets Fireball’d, CWs the damage roll to save each character d8 HPs.

Nothing to add here, as you just summed up why everyone, me included, loves this ability


Look at the suggestion to take AoA with AMS: Rage cuts damage in half which makes AoA twice as effect. Cutting Words can negate damage. So AoA could last quite a bit longer while still dishing out damage each time the character gets hit.

Again, this is a nice combo, and I do think it's insanely powerful. However, you do have to go Action AoA, Bonus rage, otherwise risking the 1 hour time limit. Also, it would be really giving you a total of 15 temp HP, which spells chew through without harming the caster.

Overall, great, but not without flaws


Further, you could take any two spells and focus on out of combat versatility or healing. Really the versatility of AMS is ridiculous and you can grab healing to help extend those HPs. Or grab a combat spell like Haste for situations when low on Rage.

Bards already get Cure Wounds and Healing Word, which work in AND out of combat, unlike Prayer of Healing.

Also, bards get Enhance ability, which I like as a rage substitute. Another good one is Enlarge, to grapple up to Huge creatures


And you get 3 skills which you discount as “let the party take them,” which isn’t a great argument as a) we don’t know the rest of the party make up to be able to assume that, those skills may well be vital; and b) having a higher Insight, Investigation, Perception or Stealth certainly helps each character regardless of what the rest of the party has.

True, but a balanced party should have 4 characters, The usual being melee, healer, caster, rogue. The melee is the OP, with 5 skills at this point, maybe more from race. Healers get 4, as do casters (backgrounds included). The rogue should have 6, and I'll just say the party races add 2 skills. Total of 21. Those extras from Bard can help, but I feel they're unnecessary.

Please, continue! Arguing is fun! :smallbiggrin:

[MaxWilson]

So I’m trying to finish up a character idea and I am attempting to decide whether I want to use my last 4-6 lvls in sword bard or lore bard.
My character is a grappler, focusing on crowd control and subduing enemies.
I’ve had strong recommendations both ways, the sword bard gives extra movement, dmg, and allows my fists/weapons to be my focus.
The lore bard allows cutting words which is really strong, and at lvl 6 can choose 2 spells from any class.
I guess I’m trying to figure out which way to go, so if anyone has an opinion/advice, that would be nice. If you have experience with either bard I’d like to hear your experience with them.
A last note: I also have levels of barbarian already locked in so rage may mess with concentration for spells if I go lore bard.
Thanks in advance

I'd probably go for Lore Bard personally, but it depends on your style and how you intend to play this character. The way I see Lore Bard helping out is: take Armor of Agathys and Healing Spirit as your magical secrets. Armor of Agathys isn't a concentration spell, so you can use it while raging, and raging makes AoA's damage last longer. Cutting Words on top of that makes it last even longer. Use Healing Spirit after combat to ensure that you're always full on HP after

I mean, I'm just guessing here that you wouldn't be a barb/barb here if you didn't intend to face-tank a lot of bad guys, so something that punishes enemies for hitting you and ensures that they have to hit you a LOT before you go down just seems like it would be compatible with your goals. Hence, AoA + Cutting Words + Healing Spirit.

[RSP]

The Unarmed Strike is a Simple Weapon, allowing you to use it as a focus. This means you can cast if you're captured. Also, Bards require an instrument for spells, not crystals.

Not true. From the basic rules:

“Instead of using a weapon to make a melee weapon attack, you can use an unarmed strike: a punch, kick, head-butt, or similar forceful blow (none of which
count as weapons).”



On a crit, it's +7. That is certainly helpful in terms of damage, and getting it to AC is wonderful, too. Any class would love extra AC AND damage.

Extra Movement is always helpful. Why not have more? It's even better for a grappler, so that with 50 normal speed, they're still as fast as a dwarf.


True, you don't HAVE to wait till a crit, it's just nice. Just like a Paladin doesn't HAVE to wait for a crit to burn their biggest Smite. It just helps.

The difference with Smites are all they are is damage. Flourishes provide better benefits than just added damage. So if you hold off on your Flourish waiting for a crit, you’re not getting the AC benefit/free Shove benefit.

Also, I’m not sure this is what you’re implying but just to be clear, I don’t think the AC benefit/Shove would benefit from a crit roll. You roll the inspiration die and that’s added to the weapon’s damage. That die roll wouldn’t change for roll for the AC benefit.

I’m not saying I’m definitively correct, just that’s how I read it. It’s a good question for JC to clarify.

Flourish
“You can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to cause the weapon to deal extra damage to the target you hit. The damage equals the number you roll on the Bardic Inspiration die. You also add the number rolled to your AC until the start of your next turn.”



Again, this is a nice combo, and I do think it's insanely powerful. However, you do have to go Action AoA, Bonus rage, otherwise risking the 1 hour time limit. Also, it would be really giving you a total of 15 temp HP, which spells chew through without harming the caster.

Overall, great, but not without flaws

Sure, I’m not saying it’s perfect. If the Barb is getting lit up by casters, basic Rage isn’t helping anyway (Bear Totem would), so those extra THPs still come in handy.

It works well with Rage and there are plenty of situations where casting and BA Rage would work nicely in round one, if not casting as a set up to combat; AoA does last an hour.




Bards already get Cure Wounds and Healing Word, which work in AND out of combat, unlike Prayer of Healing.

Also, bards get Enhance ability, which I like as a rage substitute. Another good one is Enlarge, to grapple up to Huge creatures

True, but a balanced party should have 4 characters, The usual being melee, healer, caster, rogue. The melee is the OP, with 5 skills at this point, maybe more from race. Healers get 4, as do casters (backgrounds included). The rogue should have 6, and I'll just say the party races add 2 skills. Total of 21. Those extras from Bard can help, but I feel they're unnecessary.

Please, continue! Arguing is fun! :smallbiggrin:

True they get cure wounds and word of healing, but there are much better spells for whole party healing.

And again, the beauty of it is it doesn’t have to be healing spells: any spell 3rd and lower allows for great customization.

Likewise, the skills are bonus to fill whatever void the party has (if that’s how you want to use them).

(Also, yeah, instrument not crystal - was thinking Warlock d/t AoA for a second).

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say the versatility and effectiveness of Cutting Words is better than Flourishes. It’s typically seen as one of the best abilities in the game.

As a lot of what the Sword Bard gets is a repeat of what Barbs already get (med armor, shields, Extra Attack), I just think you’ll be missing out on a lot of versitility in and out of combat, and customization, for a feature that’s not as good as CWs.

[Grear Bylls]

Scrub-a-lub-a-dub-dub

My PHB may be out of date, but it says under Simple Weapons "Unarmed Strike". It may be out of date (let me know), but that's how I see it. But still, you could use a club.

But Flourishes still do add damage. That is something.

Flourish
“You can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to cause the weapon to deal extra damage to the target you hit. The damage equals the number you roll on the Bardic Inspiration die. You also add the number rolled to your AC until the start of your next turn.”

The extra damage you deal is added to your AC. The damage equals your Bard die (twice on a crit). You then take that roll and add it to your AC. Just my perspective.

The Skills and spells are certainly very nice to add versatility. I'd just prefer a level in a different class for more versatility (maybe Warlock if you really want AoA). The skills are good, id just prefer something else, like Flourishes.

[MarkVIIIMarc]

I'm not sure which to recommend but I do say take a look at the Magic Initiate feat, see if it applies to your character and can give you the spells you would want.

Lore Bards kick butt as spellcasters but I just thought I'd throw it out there.

[MaxWilson]

My PHB may be out of date, but it says under Simple Weapons "Unarmed Strike". It may be out of date (let me know), but that's how I see it. But still, you could use a club.

Yep, it's out of date. From errata:



Weapons (p. 149). Unarmed strike doesn’t belong on the Weapons table.

For most purposes this doesn't matter, but for Blades (Sword Bards) it does, as well as for melee cantrips that specifically require a weapon, like Booming Blade/Greenflame Blade.


But Flourishes still do add damage. That is something.

Flourish
“You can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to cause the weapon to deal extra damage to the target you hit. The damage equals the number you roll on the Bardic Inspiration die. You also add the number rolled to your AC until the start of your next turn.”

The extra damage you deal is added to your AC. The damage equals your Bard die (twice on a crit). You then take that roll and add it to your AC. Just my perspective.

Judging by the wording of Flourish, it's adding a randomly-generated static bonus, not a damage die, so it seems that Flourish would not do extra damage on a crit. E.g. you don't get to roll 2d10 instead of d10 on a crit, because that d10 is not one of the attack's damage dice. More importantly, you definitely don't add 2d10 to your AC.

[Grear Bylls]

Yep, it's out of date. From errata:



For most purposes this doesn't matter, but for Blades (Sword Bards) it does, as well as for melee cantrips that specifically require a weapon, like Booming Blade/Greenflame Blade.



Judging by the wording of Flourish, it's adding a randomly-generated static bonus, not a damage die, so it seems that Flourish would not do extra damage on a crit. E.g. you don't get to roll 2d10 instead of d10 on a crit, because that d10 is not one of the attack's damage dice. More importantly, you definitely don't add 2d10 to your AC.

Yeah, someone needs to bring this to the Crawdaddy.

[RSP]

My PHB may be out of date, but it says under Simple Weapons "Unarmed Strike". It may be out of date (let me know), but that's how I see it. But still, you could use a club.

But Flourishes still do add damage. That is something.

Flourish
“You can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to cause the weapon to deal extra damage to the target you hit. The damage equals the number you roll on the Bardic Inspiration die. You also add the number rolled to your AC until the start of your next turn.”

The extra damage you deal is added to your AC. The damage equals your Bard die (twice on a crit). You then take that roll and add it to your AC. Just my perspective.

The Skills and spells are certainly very nice to add versatility. I'd just prefer a level in a different class for more versatility (maybe Warlock if you really want AoA). The skills are good, id just prefer something else, like Flourishes.

They’ve updated the PHB. Check out the PHB errata and it’ll list both the weapon chart change and the quote I listed previously.

Also, again I think it’s a good question for the devs, the line for Flourish isn’t that the extra damage you deal is added to AC, it the number rolled on the inspiration die: “You also add the number rolled to your AC until the start of your next turn.”

I’m not saying the rule is clear and I could very well be wrong, but the way it’s written would leave me to believe it’s not doubled on a crit.

Either way, I still think it’s not as good as CWs, and most of the Swords other features overlap with Barb.

Even if we go with 1 Flourish every rest is a crit (and it doubles), and the Barb has maxed Cha and they’re all used, we get an average of 30 damage added. One 3rd level casting of AoA does that on two hits. Granted you’re also using a spell slot, but that damage is coming, quite possibly, in one round vs at least 5 Rounds for Flourishes and the sooner you. And using CWs and Rage to mitigate the damage, you very well may get more than 2 hits out it (~35 damage if multiple hits in one round, ~40 if over two).

So realistically, the Barb probably has a 14 Cha (assuming Str and Con and at least 14 Dex), at most. So is it better to have 2 Flourishes (~+10 damage), or 2 CWs (~+30+ damage).

If using Flourishes for AC, either one will mitigate damage as well, but Flourishes do nothing for crits, while AoA still works.

Oh yeah, one other thing: being a grappler kind of limits the auto Shove Flourish, as if you were to use it, it would end the grapple. I’m sure it would still have situational use, just not as much as a straight Sword Bard (who could use it more effectively as a skirmisher to avoid Opportunity Attacks).

Just some thoughts. I usually go Roleplay over Mechanics with my character’s so that would be the determining factor for me, but I can’t see how Swords is a better option mechanically.

[MaxWilson]

Note also that AoA scales well with spell slots. Armor of Agathys I is basically worthless; Armor of Agathys III is barely worth it (moreso if you have damage resistance from Rage); Armor of Agathys V is quite good.

But there's also some anti-scaling there as you get harder-hitting enemies: Armor of Agathys V is still pretty crummy against a Mummy Lord who will burn it all in one hit, but it's decent against an Efreeti (blah, I hate how WotC erroneously pluralized the singular there) and it's quite good against a swarm of lower-CR enemies (which might still be a Deadly encounter!). And again, it synergizes well with Rage + Cutting Words to reduce damage and therefore make the AoA inflict more damage.

[RSP]

Note also that AoA scales well with spell slots. Armor of Agathys I is basically worthless; Armor of Agathys III is barely worth it (moreso if you have damage resistance from Rage); Armor of Agathys V is quite good.

But there's also some anti-scaling there as you get harder-hitting enemies: Armor of Agathys V is still pretty crummy against a Mummy Lord who will burn it all in one hit, but it's decent against an Efreeti (blah, I hate how WotC erroneously pluralized the singular there) and it's quite good against a swarm of lower-CR enemies (which might still be a Deadly encounter!). And again, it synergizes well with Rage + Cutting Words to reduce damage and therefore make the AoA inflict more damage.

Yeah it certainly works better against lower CR mobs than single big hitters, though the Rage-CWs combo should at least allow 2 hits with the retributive damage with a 3rd level slot casting (~35 damage). After all, you only need 1 THP remaining to inflict the full 15 points of damage. A crit might keep that to one shot, but again, those THPs still help in that case.

If fighting lower CR mobs, you could even have zero damage hits to you that kill the attackers, which is just ridiculously effective.

[ChangeSumFlux]

Thanks for all the replies, this is a lot of good info. Right now I'm leaning more towards lore bard. To clarify some things, my stats are
str 20
dex 16
con 18
int 7
wis 9
char 14
My party is made up of 10 people (I know, it's a lot)(1 Pally, 2 rogues, 1 barb, 1 ranger, 1 monk, 1 bard, 1 sorcerer, 1 cleric, and me) so we are probably good on skill make-up.
It is a level 10 character, I'm currently thinking I'll go up to 6 bear totem barbarian and the rest into bard.
A few questions, with AoA, does the damage effect end once the temp HP is gone? From what people have said, it seems like it works this way. Also, how does this work will temp HP from other sources? If I have 15 temp HP from AoA, and lets say 30 from a different source, would AoA keep triggering until all the HP is gone, or only the 15 HP of AoA?
I would also like more opinions on what spells to take, both from bard levels and from the lvl 6 lore ability. A few I thought of were enlarge self, fly(for dropping people while i'm not flying), maybe haste( for climbing walls and dropping people).
Another thing, when you use acronyms can you please list what they mean at least once. I'm not familiar with most of them, for example I don't know what AMS means(I figured AoA out from context).
Thanks again for all the input.

[MaxWilson]

Yeah it certainly works better against lower CR mobs than single big hitters, though the Rage-CWs combo should at least allow 2 hits with the retributive damage with a 3rd level slot casting (~35 damage). After all, you only need 1 THP remaining to inflict the full 15 points of damage. A crit might keep that to one shot, but again, those THPs still help in that case.

If fighting lower CR mobs, you could even have zero damage hits to you that kill the attackers, which is just ridiculously effective.

Especially with Heavy Armor Master. :-)

The big question of course is "Will the lower CR mobs continue to fight, or will they just avoid you and/or flee?" But that question can only be answered in play, not on an Internet forum, because it's really a question of "Why are you fighting each other?"


A few questions, with AoA, does the damage effect end once the temp HP is gone? From what people have said, it seems like it works this way. Also, how does this work will temp HP from other sources? If I have 15 temp HP from AoA, and lets say 30 from a different source, would AoA keep triggering until all the HP is gone, or only the 15 HP of AoA?
I would also like more opinions on what spells to take, both from bard levels and from the lvl 6 lore ability. A few I thought of were enlarge self, fly(for dropping people while i'm not flying), maybe haste( for climbing walls and dropping people).
Another thing, when you use acronyms can you please list what they mean at least once. I'm not familiar with most of them, for example I don't know what AMS means(I figured AoA out from context).
Thanks again for all the input.

I don't know what AMS means either (Anti-Magic Shell?).

You can only ever have temp HP from one source. If someone else gives you temp HP from e.g. Heroism, either you accept them (and your Armor of Agathys temp HP go away, which ends the damage effect and effectively ends the spell) or you decline them and nothing happens.

[RSP]

Thanks for all the replies, this is a lot of good info. Right now I'm leaning more towards lore bard. To clarify some things, my stats are
str 20
dex 16
con 18
int 7
wis 9
char 14
My party is made up of 10 people (I know, it's a lot)(1 Pally, 2 rogues, 1 barb, 1 ranger, 1 monk, 1 bard, 1 sorcerer, 1 cleric, and me) so we are probably good on skill make-up.
It is a level 10 character, I'm currently thinking I'll go up to 6 bear totem barbarian and the rest into bard.
A few questions, with AoA, does the damage effect end once the temp HP is gone? From what people have said, it seems like it works this way. Also, how does this work will temp HP from other sources? If I have 15 temp HP from AoA, and lets say 30 from a different source, would AoA keep triggering until all the HP is gone, or only the 15 HP of AoA?
I would also like more opinions on what spells to take, both from bard levels and from the lvl 6 lore ability. A few I thought of were enlarge self, fly(for dropping people while i'm not flying), maybe haste( for climbing walls and dropping people).
Another thing, when you use acronyms can you please list what they mean at least once. I'm not familiar with most of them, for example I don't know what AMS means(I figured AoA out from context).
Thanks again for all the input.

AMS=Additional Magical Secrets, which is the level 6 Lore Bard Ability which gives the 2 spells from any list. It’s kind of odd as the level 10 ability to select any spell is Magical Secrets, and when the Lore Bard gets it at 6, it’s called Additional Magical Secrets, even though it’s their first time selecting.

Temp HPs (THPs) don’t stack. So if you have THP and you have the option for new ones, you choose whether you keep what you have or take the new ones.